


Re; An (Im)Perfect World

by CtrlAltSandwich



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, If it's not in tags it's in the cw, M/M, a lot of oc's cuz plot n stuff, cuz its zootopia what'd you expect, more tags to be added over time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-17 12:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14188878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CtrlAltSandwich/pseuds/CtrlAltSandwich
Summary: After the Bellwether incident, Nick and Judy are assigned to a new, mysterious department within the ZPD, where the most difficult cases are sent as an absolute last resort. Will the pair be up to the challenge of cracking seemingly unsolvable cases, or will they crumble before the titanic burden?(also a better version of my first ever fic which was uh, catastrophic [ch. 1/2 are in the process of being reworked, but other things are mostly done])





	1. Purple and Orange

**Author's Note:**

> o/
> 
> If you're one of the few people who've previously read this fic (on ffnet), please allow me to assure you that I am, in fact the original author (VeuvedeSoleil). For the most part, I'm migrating the fic onto Ao3 in order to resurrect it, but also to give myself some diversity in subject matter (BotW is real nice to write about, but I'm suffering from all kinds of writer's block rn). These chapters are largely identical to how they were on ffnet, but with a few edits to make the story flow better and for the sake of my own sanity. For more information/confirmation that this fic my own, please check the profile for my original pseud (Once again, VeuvedeSoleil) on ffnet.
> 
> [also the editing almost made me vomit cuz hoooOOOo boy did having English as a second language ever show]

It was late. God, it was late.

It was late, and Judith Laverne Hopps was thoroughly drunk. Nick had told her to stay away from the Carrot Vodka, and after that, to hold back a bit, and after that, to please stop for the sake of her liver. He had ended up having to carry his inebriated partner all the way to her closet of an apartment in Sahara Square, all the way from the stadium where the Gazelle concert took place. He wasn't alone of course, as the streets were crowded with people walking back from the very same concert, some of whom were probably too drunk to even walk safely. The vulpine was making good progress, if things kept up like this, he suspected he'd have his partner home before 1:00. Until, suddenly, he felt an impact on his back

"Let her go, ya damn pervert!" bellowed the voice from behind. Judy almost fell, but Nick managed to rouse her somewhat in his panic, and she was leaning against an alley wall.

Nick, however, was not so lucky. As it turned out, the voice was actually but one of five mammals now dragging him into the alleyway. A ram, two beavers, an otter, and an elephant all began to verbally and physically assault him. Thankfully enough, the elephant was only yelling.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Dragging a defenseless bunny away like that! Probably taking her to your little hole in the wall to have your way with her, weren't you, you damn pervert!" The attack continued. How was he going to get out of this one? The mammals were out of reason, and he could barely form a sentence amidst the beatdown.

 _'Judy!'_ Was all he could think. He had started to bleed from his nose and mouth, and was about to have a bone of some sort broken, maybe his arm? He couldn't tell amongst the pain. When, at the entrance of the ally, a figure wearing a deep purple hoodie walked towards the group as if the alley was his and his alone.

"I'm sure," he began, causing the attackers to stop momentarily "that I did not just see you five attack a registered officer of the law. Did I?", he asked, speaking with a slight accent.

The elephant began "If this little shit's a cop, then I'm the mayor, so why don't you keep to yourself while we give this pervert a-"

He saw the figure, a leopard with orange-tinged fur wince slightly. "There's that ugly accusation for what? The third time? Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Detective Cameron Purrvis, of the Precinct One S-C-D-C-I-U, and the mammal you are assaulting there is Nicholas Wilde, carrying home his ever so slightly intoxicated partner, maybe you've heard of her, her last name's Hopps. So why don't you five keep to yourselves, apologize profusely to my colleague, and be on your way?"

The assailants were surprisingly cooperative once they realized who exactly they were attacking, and started walking away when Cameron said "Don't think you're getting away scot-free. I'll find your names, and all of you will be receiving calls tomorrow. We expect your full cooperation. Do you understand?" The mammals nodded, and left the alley, just as Judy collapsed onto the ground, asleep.

The leopard, Cameron walked over to the slightly bloodied Nick and helped him up. "You all good?", he asked, to which Nick nodded, wincing slightly as he straightened his back.

"I owe ya, Cameron was it? How is it I've never heard of you from Judy before? I think I've heard at least two stories about everyone at the precinct from her."

Cameron smiled slightly "I don't exactly go out much, and I'm relatively isolated at the precinct, as the only official officer in the Zootopia Precinct 1 Serious Crime Division Classified Investigation Unit. Which in and of itself is ironic enough to keep me in the job. But if you want to come by on Monday, my office is on the second floor, 4 doors down from forensics," He said as he turned around and left, as quickly and suddenly as he had come.

Nick collected himself, cleaned up as best he could using a packet of tissues and brought Judy back to her apartment in what was a long, uneventful walk, which ended in Judy sleeping on the floor, with no more than a blanket and pillow,

He made it back to his apartment at an ungodly hour, but thankfully, he only had to be at work at 11:00, as Chief Bogo was surprisingly lenient with the restrictions for the concert, and the workday that followed. Something was bothering Nick though. He could have sworn he saw a fox's tail behind the leopard. Was he even a leopard? It was probably his mind playing tricks on him. Eventually, his thoughts faded, his pain dulled, and he fell into the gentle embrace of sleep.

* * *

 

Judy woke up, very tired, very hungover, and much later than usual. Her clock showed 9:23. She panicked for a moment, but then remembered that she only needed to be at the precinct in about two hours, which gave her half an hour to get showered and ready, then she'd head to-

"Nick." Something happened to Nick. Was he okay? Was he alive? Was he- No. She stopped herself. Nick must've brought her here. He laid out this makeshift bed and put her in it. Regardless, she'd check in on him before work started, and then she'd go and get coffee for them both to repay Nick for last night.

She got to Nick's complex in the Rainforest District by 10:04, and Nick was by the entrance. They'd agreed their mornings would go like this when neither of them was sick, or in the hospital, or whatever. When Nick got into the patrol car, she saw he had something on his muzzle.

_Blood._

"Mornin' Carrots," Nick said calmly, using his affectionate nickname for her. "What's up? Looks like you've seen a ghost. Or did you steal away some of that vodka while I wasn't looking?" He teased with a coy smile plastered on his face.

"Oh cheese and crackers Nick, what did you _do_  last night?" Judy asked, a worried expression on her face. "Why is there dried blood on your muzzle?"

Nick put a paw on his muzzle, looking quite surprised " _Thought I got it all,_ " he muttered under his breath.

"There was more?!" Judy shouted, now very concerned for her partner's well being.

Nick sighed, silently reminding himself that rabbit hearing was much too good for him to get away with anything. "When I was taking you back to your apartment, a bunch of Social Justice Mammals thought I was taking you against your will, and were all too happy to beat me senseless," Nick explained. "About a minute later, another P1 officer came in and managed to get them off of me, surprisingly enough, without force. His name was Cameron or something, a leopard with orange-ish fur. Anyways, I'm fine now Carrots, but can we please get to work? I don't want to be late for my second week on the job."

"Purrvis?" Judy asked, now sidetracked. "The guy in the NC?"

"The NC? I thought he told me it was called the Zootopia Precinct 1 Heinous Crimes Division or something."

"Well, technically, yes. He's the only officer in the Zootopia Precinct 1 Serious Crime Division Classified Investigation Unit," Judy responded. "But, most of us just call it the Noir Cube, or the NC."

Nick still looked puzzled. "What, does he have it decked out like those detectives from those old crime movies?".

"You got it in one, slick," Judy snickered. "He's kind of a strange guy, but he's very good at what he does. He was the one who managed to figure out that Bellwether was tricking the ZPD into coming to the Museum of Natural History, from what I've heard." Judy concluded.

"That's great Fluff, really, but can we please get going? We have 29 minutes to get to Savannah Central from here." Judy gasped looking at the car's digital display which now read 10:31. She made no delay in slamming her foot on the gas pedal after that statement.

"Carrots," Nick said wide-eyed. "Hopps," Nick said frowning slightly. "Judy," Nick said, looking all but concerned. "What?" Judy snapped, now irritated at the fox. "Speed limit." At this, Judy checked her speed, which was 9 miles above the limit. She gasped and lowered her speed accordingly. All the while, Wilde was just smiling sardonically, as he did best.

* * *

 

They got to the precinct soon after, parked, and made their way through the front door, to see the smiling receptionist and dispatch officer, Benjamin Clawhauser.

"Morning Benji!" Nick said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. The 'well rounded' cheetah turned, and with a donut in his mouth, said something like "Mhmoh! Mhsthr mhph mmph."

"Sorry! Morning, you two!" He said, his voice dripping sugar. "Muster is in 5, but you can go in early if you want."

They went in early.

The small room was already decently full, and as the pair made their way to their shared chair, many of the mammals greeted them. At 11:00 exactly, Officer Higgins shouted "Atten Hut!", at which everyone in the room stopped their conversations and arm wrestling, as Chief Bogo made his way into the room, to deliver the day's assignments.

"Happy Monday," he began, ever enthusiastic. "We have three items on the docket today. Firstly, I hope you all enjoyed the concert last night. Please be sure that you clean up before going on patrol if need be," he said, looking at Snarlof, who still had a message on his forehead that read "Bset Cnocert Evar!". This garnered a few snickers from the officers around the extremely tired bear.

"Secondly, Officer Delgato has been temporarily transferred to Precinct 6 in wake of Officer Stripes' oncoming childbirth. So don't expect to see him around for a few months."

"Lastly," he boomed. "Today's assignments. Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer and Anderson, Tundra Town SWAT. Officers Francine, Anderson and..." Eventually, he came to the pair on their shared chair. "And Officers Wilde and Hopps, you two will be working with some of our detectives to assist them in solving their current case. Report to office 207 for more information. Dismissed."

As the pair left, Nick asked: "So, room 207, any idea where it is?" At her partner's lack of experience, Judy sighed, but with a smile on her face. "You know you love me." He said.

"Dumb Fox," Judy said as she lead her partner to the elevator. "At least I'm your dumb fox." He said with a sarcastic smile. "So, what room is forensics in again?" Nick asked. Judy gave her partner a confused look. "Really? We went there on Thursday to get that fur analyzed for that Tundra Town break-in case. It was room 203." She said in an exasperated tone. "Really? Isn't that just-", he began, but the elevator door opened, cutting him off.

They stood outside the clean black door with the sliver numbers "207" printed in silver. Judy knocked twice, and a voice inside responded: "Come in."

They expected a detective. Nick expected someone in a hoodie. Judy expected someone in casual attire with an uninteresting personality. They did not expect a leopard with slightly orange fur in an exquisite black suit, white dress shirt, and black dress pants, wearing what must have been a fedora, but what was a far cry from anything you'd expect to see at Snarlbucks, on account of its rim being about twice as wide. Come to think of it, it looked like something you'd expect to see from one of those old Noir crime films, starring the grizzled PI and the Femme Fatale.

"What a pleasant surprise! I thought I was going to be working with some more grunts who lacked the mental capacity for coloring books, but it seems that Bogo was feeling benevolent enough to give me you two for this case. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Cameron Purrvis, of the Zootopia Precinct 1 Serious Crime Division Classified Investigation Unit, which, as a consensus is a terrible name, but administration begs to disagree. Feel free to just call it the NC."

For what must have been the fourth time in his life, Nicholas Piberius Wilde was without words. The cheaply dressed, somewhat harsh leopard from last night was completely gone. Replaced by a suave, sarcastic, bona-fide detective.

"What, are my clothes really that formal?" He asked. "By the way, you don't need to call me Detective or what have you. My friends just call me Cammy, so you can use that or whatever else you come up with."

"Uh," Judy said. "I mean, Chief said you need help on a case?"

This brought Nick back to earth. "Right, he didn't tell us what it was though, just to come here and have you fill us in."

Cammy sighed. "That's very much like him. It was probably to prevent you getting cold feet."

This caused the purple-eyed rabbit to become slightly more than irritated. "I'm sorry? We solved the Night Howler case, I'm certain that this'll be no big deal in comparison."

Nick was also irritated, but chose to hide it under a mask of feigned amusement.

"Let me fill you in then," 'Cammy' began. "Did either of you hear about the radio DJ who died on air?"

At this Nick's eyes widened. "You mean DJ Double Dredds? The radio DJ of 91.6 The Haze?"

Cameron nodded at this, apparently pleased. "The very same. Although his name was actually William Hornspike, and I'm certain that you know he was an Oryx, a buck particularly skilled at casting, and DJ-ing due to their naturally loud voice and charisma."

Judy began to chip in, "Oh, I heard about that! He ate a macaroon brought by Dolly Cackleton, an aspiring hyena vocalist, then fell to the ground and died, right?"

Purrvis got up and started pacing the room. "So we thought. But as it turns out, he actually died after drinking a cup of tea laced with a poison we have yet to identify. For my two cents worth, I think it was probably some kind of neurotoxin. As for why he fell down 'dead' during the show, we simply don't know."

"So then the culprit is whoever made the tea, right?" Nick asked impatiently "That's an easy enough conclusion to come to." He continued.

"That was the conclusion I came to as well. Until early this morning."

Judy looked confused. "What happened?" She asked.

Cameron looked at them with dire eyes. "This morning, we found the tea lady at the studio, Antia Brewer, age 20, an architecture major at Westside Academy, dead. On the surface, it appears to be a suicide, but I have reason to believe both she and the DJ were killed by the same mammal. You two are here to help me find who."

Nick cleared his throat. "Well, could you at least give us a list of suspects before throwing us at the crime scene?"

"Fair enough," The leopard opened a drawer on his desk, and produced a thin file. "Read these for yourselves on your way to the studio. I have some other business to take care of today, but I'll be in touch."

As he was walking out, he turned to Nick and Judy for an instant. "I should warn you, when Bogo assigns people here, it's never for a single case. He's testing you two; waiting to see if you'll break under the pressure. Personally, I'm also curious to see how you'll do. Best of luck."

With that, Nick and Judy had officially been assigned to their first case of the NC. Whether Cameron liked it or not, both of them resolved to make it far from their last.


	2. The DJ's Swansong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively: Fluff in its many shapes and sizes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o/  
> Sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter, but I ended up rethinking how I wanted to post these. Instead of just editing and posting the 3 original chapters, I've decided to finish and post the half finished chapter, and then entirely re-work the context of what would have been chapter 3. Confusing, I know, but it'll make sense in the long run!

**Four days ago:**

"Good morning Zootopia!" the voice of DJ Double Dredds boomed. "Welcome to 91.6 The Haze, Zootopia's number one talk show station! Today, with me, I have aspiring singer and actress Dolly Cackleton! Say hi to the listeners, Dolly!"

"Hi to the listeners, Dolly." She responded, audibly nervous.

"I already like you! It's pleasure to have someone like you on the show!" The DJ reassured. "What's this you've brought here?" The DJ asked, pointing a hoof at a small, red box that was resting by Dolly's arm.

"Oh, this?" The hyena said playfully. "I brought you some macaroons, they're from a little bakery by my apartment," She explained, pushing the box towards the DJ.

"You shouldn't have," the DJ said modestly. "But would you mind if I try one on air?" the DJ inquired. "Not at all! Go right ahead." the hyena replied.

The DJ took one of the macaroons, a yellow lemon flavored one, and bit into it. "Wow Dolly, this is great! What's the na-"

Suddenly the DJ began to cough uncontrollably, putting his hooves up to his windpipe while he tried in vain to expel whatever was causing this to happen. "Oh my God!" Dolly shouted "Someone, help him!".

The show's director rushed in, while sound mixer called 911. "Breathe, dammit!" The director shouted, frantically trying to resuscitate the dying DJ.

When the director got up, he shook his head, and walked slowly out of the room along with the sound mixer, and Dolly.

* * *

Judy hopped into the driver seat of the patrol car, and began to weave through Monday morning traffic to the fateful studio. "Didn't Cameron give you a file with all of the suspects? Why don't you read through that before we get to the crime scene?"

Nick shot his partner an incredulous look. "You know, I never thought to do that. It's not like I specifically asked him for the file so that I could read through it or anything."

"Wow. Rude. Let me know if anyone in particular seems more suspicious to you. Even if you don't like to admit it, you have a knack for figuring out which suspect is most likely the criminal."

The fox sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. Focus on the road, I'll let you know what I think when we get to the studio."

He opened the file.

* * *

 

**CASE FILE: CP-27, SUSPECT PROFILES**

There were five in total, listed in no particular order. All instances of Hornspike's name seemed to be replaced with 'the victim', which didn't make for easy reading.

**DOLLY CACKLETON:**

**Hyena/26/F | An aspiring singer and guest on the show. SUSPECT.**

**She made an appearance on the show to promote her upcoming performance. Gave the victim the Macaroons which brought on his apparent death, even though they were later found to have no traces of the poison that killed the victim.**

It seemed unlikely to be her, since the macaroons were decidedly harmless. However, ruling her out would have been rash at this stage.

**ELISE WHITETAIL:**

**Cheetah/53/F | Cackleton's manager. Had a history with the victim. SUSPECT.**

**Dolly's manager, present on the day of the murder, in the same room as the director and sound mixer. Had a mixed relationship with her client, who was a guest on the show. An old friend of Hornspike's. Showed up five minutes before her client.**

Once again, it was most likely not her, since she had an alibi, and had shown up before Dolly.

**EDWARD SNOWPIKE:**

**Wolf/42/M | The show's director. Quarreled with the victim over money matters. SUSPECT.**

**Long-time partner of the victim, and the creator of the 91.6 Talk Show. Generally polite and well-mannered, if not absent minded. Was in the same room as the sound mixer and Cackleton's manager. Attempted to resuscitate the victim after he 'died'.**

Something about his profile seemed... off. He certainly had motive enough, as he "Quarreled with the victim over money matters".

**RANDALL SAIN:**

**Rabbit/31/M | The show's sound mixer. Liked to flirt with the victim. SUSPECT.**

**A former musician who worked as a sound technician on the 91.6 Talk Show. Moved away from his family in Bunnyburrow at the age of 18, after being kicked out for being openly homosexual. Was in the same room as the director and Cackleton's manager.**

Although the rabbit had clearly had it rough, he didn't seem to be terribly suspicious. Not enough to merit prioritized questioning, at any rate.

**ANITA BREWER:**

**Goat/20/F | The station's tea lady. Architechture major at Westside University. Deceased. KEY SUSPECT.**

**A part-time employee at the radio station's cafeteria who was found dead two days after the incident occurred. Traces of the same poison that killed the victim were identified in her bloodstream, making suicide highly likely. Her fingerprints were identified on the cup of tea containing the poison that killed the victim. Admired the victim greatly, and was well liked by the director and sound mixer.**

As guilty as she seemed, it simply didn't make sense. Why would she commit a crime like this? She had a good job, working in the same studio as her idol, and was in her last year of university as a good school. Her family cared for her, and she was mentally sound. It simply didn't add up.

There was one last entry.

**RANDALL HORNSPIKE:**

**Oryx/34/M | A DJ who died while on his morning talk show. Worked at 91.6 The Haze. VICTIM.**

**A popular radio host with a deep, rich voice and a lively, likable personality. Well liked among his colleagues. If not for his exorbitant monthly pay, his spending habits would have landed him in deep financial trouble. Cause of death was a potent neurotoxin that was slipped into some tea that he drank. Death was likely prolonged and painful, as this particular neurotoxin caused near-instant paralysis before slowly inducing death. Faked his death by 'choking' on a macaroon for unknown reasons before drinking the tea.**

* * *

As he closed the case file, he winced slightly. It didn't sound like a pleasant fate, even though the DJ was found to have died at a later point. He and Judy had been sent to collect evidence, and then expand the thin report. Nick had expected as much, as Purrvis had to deal with the five mammals the attacked him last night. The studio was based in Savannah Central, about three blocks down from precinct one, on floors 17-23 in a large building. The room where the DJ had died was on floor 22, next to the break room and the storeroom.

"Hey Carrots," Nick called. "How do you want to split the search?"

Judy looked over, and replied with her typical enthusiasm, despite the circumstances. "I'll do the storeroom, where Anita's body was found, you go through the studio, and we'll meet in the hall after an hour to collect our findings."

* * *

 

Judy made her way into the storeroom, filled with large filing cabinets, 10 in total, with the outline of Anita's body directly in front of the filing cabinet at the entrance of the room. There were several shards of glass to the left of the outline, which also happened to be the direction the body was facing when it was found. 

There was a speaker system that played whatever was on air at the time, meaning that the fateful broadcast would have been audible in here. Judy slipped on her gloves, provided by the buck who was standing guard outside the rooms. She made her way over to the desk in the far left corner of the room, and opened a drawer. Some candy, each piece has been unwrapped and nibbled to an extent. They were probably Anita's.

In the next drawer was a pen, maybe with fingerprints on it? She'd have forensics give it a look. All the other drawers were full of papers and various files, organized by date. She stubbed her toe on the trash can under the desk. Hard.

"Son of a bi-" she stopped herself and glared at the desk instead of cursing it out. 

She pulled the bin out from under the desk, and found a plastic cup inside of the bin. It seemed dry, meaning that whatever was in it was probably consumed on the day of the DJ's last broadcast.

It probably wasn't important, but she decided to take note of it. Aside from that, all that was left to look through were the filing cabinets in the room. After going through 8 of them, she was almost done with her search of the room, and expected nothing much other than organized files, like the other cabinets had yielded. However, the cabinet closest to the entrance of the room had a small sticky note on the inside of it.

"Hoggrod's: Sale" it read, in neat, cursive handwriting. Judy was unsure of what relevance the note was, but, much like the plastic cup, decided to take note of it as there wasn't much else to take note of.

She did one last quick run through of the room, and made her way back into the hallway, where Nick was typing on his phone so fast, she wondered how it still didn't have a single scratch on the screen. As he saw her, he quickly put it away, and reached into the pocket on the front of his uniform.

* * *

After Nick had parted ways with Judy, he made his way into the studio, where he spotted the outline of Dredd's body in the closer right hand corner. In the exact center of the room was the table at which the DJ and Cackleton sat during the very brief talk session they had.

On the table was the box of macaroons which were thought to have taken Dredd's life, with only one missing in the box. The wrapping of the box was tossed to the side of the lid, meaning that the box must have been opened on air for the first time, discounting the possibility of poisoning the macaroons after buying them.

The chairs were yellow, pop art style pieces of work, both of which looked as if they were the lovechildren of a cube and a plate of lasagna. Dredd's was on the floor, as he had knocked it over during his 'death'. There was a shattered teacup on the ground, accompanied by a stain on the carpeted floor, most likely the tea that killed the DJ. There was another teacup on the desk, on Dolly's side. Forensics was probably looking through that now.

Across the room lay an old, comfy looking couch, with a pin-up calendar above it. There was also the obvious microphone on the desk. That too, had been knocked over during Dredd's panic.

Nick was doing one final look about the room, when he tripped over the one of the long, tendril-like arms of Dredd's chair.

"Who makes these things?" He said to nobody in particular.

"Who the _hell_ buys these things?" He said as he got up, irritation evident in his voice.

As he was getting up, something on the bottom of the desk caught his eye. It was something orange and small, that was stuck to the desk using a wad of gum. Upon removing it, Nick could tell that it was a handkerchief, with something in barely legible handwriting written on it. "Well? Surprised?".

 _"Dear God."_ Nick thought, his mind racing. He decided to take one last cursory look through the room, and then, he headed back into the hallway, where he waited for Judy to come out of the storeroom.

He checked the time, and despaired as the display on his phone read 12:23. _"Well, may as well try to surprise her."_ he thought, and unlocked his phone.

* * *

As Judy came out of the storeroom, Nick was waiting for her, much to her surprise. "Done already?" Judy asked.

"Done and dusted with a small orange handkerchief." Nick said, producing the object from the pocket on the front of his uniform. Judy looked at it with a degree of curiosity, only for Nick to interrupt her thoughts by putting the object back away. "But why don't you go over what you found first?" Nick asked teasingly.

"Hmph," she fumed. "Well, apart from the obvious filing cabinets, there were a few pieces of candy that Anita snacked on," she continued. "There was a pen that probably belonged to her, and an empty plastic cup in the bottom of the bin beneath the desk, as well as a small note inside of one of the cabinets," She concluded, producing the note from the file she was carrying.

"Hoggrods? Wasn't there a sale there a couple days ago?" Nick asked. "25% off all winter clothes, if I recall correctly."

Judy wondered why Nick had remembered such an arbitrary thing, but she settled on it being his affinity for useless trivia.

Nick took out the handkerchief again. "Well, I found a few things too," Nick started. "Aside from this little thing, there was a cup of tea on Dolly's side of the table, right next to the box of macaroons," he continued. "Dredd's teacup was shattered on the floor, close to where the body was found. That was about it, until I expertly discovered this," He said, as he waved the handkerchief about, before handing it to Judy.

Her amethyst eyes widened. " _Well, Surprised?_ Does that mean that he really did fake his death?"

"Why Carrots," Nick began, smiling sardonically. "I do believe that you just cracked the case at hand."

Judy looked at him with a mix of irritation and happiness.

"However, it's probably better to send this in with our reports and let good old Cammy figure that out. Why don't we get back to the precinct and get these reports filed."

"That's my _favorite_ part of this job" Judy said, her voice dripping with scornful sarcasm.

Nick gaped in feigned surprise. "Did I just hear Judy Hopps, the star officer of the ZPD say that she _doesn't_ love typing up lengthy reports for hours on end?"

Judy smiled. _"Sometimes I think he's the only thing keeping me sane."_

* * *

Back at the station, Judy was typing up her report while Nick was focusing his attention on everything _but_ his monitor. "Hey Carrots," he started, suddenly looking very busy at his desk. "About how far into yours are you?"

Judy sighed inwardly. "I'm about 80% done, how about you?" Nick didn't turn his head, so as to obscure the view of his screen.

"It's getting there Fluff, it's getting there." He assured. Now typing furiously. At this rate, it would be about fifteen more minutes untill she finished. As for Nick...

"Done!" He stated. Judy gaped, but replaced her expression with one of disbelief as she turned around. "Nick, there's no way you could possibly be finished. You've been looking at the roof for the past fifteen minutes alone!"

Nick smiled in the way he does when he knows he's won. "By all means Fluff, feel free to read it, just don't forget to properly cite your it as your source when you're all done with yours." Judy pushed past her Vulpine partner to see a full length, properly formatted, detailed report on his findings and their relations to the crime.

"But- I mean- How?" She asked, bewildered. "You can't expect me to believe that you typed this up in the five minutes you were actually working." She finished, looking very confused.

"Remember when you walked out of the storeroom at 12:50?" He asked. "Actually, you probably don't, since you never checked the time. As it turns out, it only took me 23 minutes to find what I did, giving me a little while to start typing up my report."

Judy's eyes widened, and a smile spread across her face. "You know, sometimes you really are a sly fox."

Nick gasped in feigned offense. "How dare you." 

She made her way back to her desk to finish her report.

"Hey- uh, Carrots?"

If Judy's eyes were wide before, they were dangerously so now, although Nick couldn't see. _"He stuttered."_ Judy thought. Nick Wilde, the fox with a tongue of silver, infamous for his presence of mind, had stuttered.This meant one of two things was about to happen. He was either going to ask Judy something that made him uncomfortable, or he was going to drop some _very_ bad news.

"I was thinking-"

"Well that's a first."

"Har har." He responded. "I was wondering if maybe later on you'd like to do something? Together?"

Judy was stunned. Had he just- Had her partner just asked her out? "It doesn't have to be anything formal." He added hastily.

She smiled as wide as she could and turned around. "How about a movie later on?" she asked. "At my apartment?"

"You sure your neighbors would be okay with that?" He asked, also smiling. "You said that-"

"I don't care what I said, fox. Do you want to watch a movie together or not?"

Nick nodded. "How's 5:30 sound?"

"That should be perfect, do you remember where my apartment is?"

Nick laughed. "No, I don't. I only carried you there, half bruised and bleeding from every facial orifice at 1 in the morning. I have no clue whatsoever where this elusive apartment is. We'll probably have to cancel." Nick said sardonically. He started for the door, "See you then, Carrots!"

* * *

Judy had finished her report, and handed it in to Cameron. "Thanks Hopps," he began. "It's nice to have at least one thing go well today." he said. "Do you know how hard it is to get in the way of a fleeing elephant? As a wolf?" Judy was confused.

"What happened?" she asked.

"The other business I had to attend to today happened. For some unknowable reason, Bogo contacted me personally in order to get my help on a compound raid."

"In the middle of the day?"

"That's exactly what I said, but he knows better, of course. In any case, they had me cover for any runners. Had my rifle and everything, more than enough time to set up, and then at the worst possible moment, Wolford runs _into_ my sights. Thankfully, elephants are fairly large, so I got him on the second shot." 

Judy was still confused. "You're a sniper?"

Purrvis inclined his head. "You didn't know? I'm fully aware that they don't often deploy me, and for good reason, but to think you wouldn't know... Never mind. That's enough for today, you're dismissed, we'll continue with this tomorrow." He said, and left the office, heading to forensics.

He really was strange, she concluded.

She headed back to her apartment, stopping to get some lunch on the way back. When she got back, it was almost 5, so she turned on her phone and looked for ways to pass the time until Nick arrived.

* * *

 

Nick on the other hand, was getting ready for his movie night with Judy.

After he had left Judy to finish her report, he went to turn his in, only to find an empty room, with an unlocked door. As he went to place his report on the desk in the center of the room, something in the corner caught his eye. It was black and red, with an hourglass design on the side. He absentmindedly dropped the report on the desk as he approached the object. The closer he got, the more he could make out.

A scope. A long barrel, and a shoulder rest. Easily identifiable as a sniper rifle, but it certainly wasn't standard issue ZPD equipment. And what was it doing in Purrvis' office? Was he a sniper? He couldn't be, as Nick had never seen him in action, nor had he ever seen Cammy at muster, where every field officer was made to report at the start of the day. As he left, he made a mental note to bring up the rifle with the detective the next time they met.

He took the ZTM back into the Rainforest Disrict, and walked to his complex, where he made his way up three flights of stairs, and into his moderately sized apartment. He decided to shower, and then get ready for his date with Judy, even though it was only 3:56. As he slipped on his preferred Pawaiian shirt and khakis, he checked the clock again. 4:13. He figured he had about 20 minutes before he needed to leave to get to Judy on time. So, like any other mammal, he opened up his phone to pass the time.

At 4:30, Nick made his way to the ZTV station, and got off at Savannah Central, about 20 minutes away from Judy's place. He started down the street, when a small convenience store made him think. He went in, and bought a box of microwave popcorn, and several drinks.

Judy was reading Pride and Pawjudice when she heard a knock at the door. Thankfully, Bucky and Pronk had just left to go to a party at Saharah Square, so nobody commented on this through the wall. She went to the door, and opened it to see a smiling fox.

"Hey Carrots," Nick said. "How's it going?".

Judy smiled. "You're hopeless," she said, and hugged him. Nick came inside, and set down his shopping bag.

"Hope you don't mind, but I brought some popcorn and drinks." Judy feigned offense. "How dare you," she said, much like Nick did from time to time, before asking. "What do you want to watch?" 

Nick was looking around the apartment. "Fluff, how do you live in this closet? There's hardly enough space for you, your bed, and your desk. Your TV is on the floor, and this wallpaper is _terrible_." 

"It's homey," Judy shrugged. "Now pick a movie or I'll pick one for you." Judy said.

"How about Jack Savage IV?"

 Judy gaped. "You, a fox with a deep seated hatred of cheesy action flicks, like Jack Savage?"

Nick scoffed. "Jack Savage is not a cheesy action flick, and IV is the best in the series!" Nick exclaimed.

"Well, it's a good thing I like Jack Savage as well, or you'd find yourself watching The Fault in Our Star Systems with me."

Nick's face shriveled in distaste. "I'd much rather drown in a pool of molten iron than watch a Sci-fi chick flick. I mean seriously, who thought that was a good idea?" They both laughed. Judy put the DVD into her TV, and the movie started playing.

Two hours and three bowls of popcorn later, Judy was out. Nick was surprised, as it was only 7:30, but he guessed that the hangover must have manifested in some form again. _"Oh well, there are worse ways to fall asleep."_ He thought, and tried to follow Judy, only succeeding about an hour later.

Judy dreamt of a perfect world, where there was no specism, no stereotyping, no crime. A world where she and Nick could be together without society frowning on them. A world where anyone could really be anything.

And Nick? Nick just dreamt of Judy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll have a posting schedule finalized by the time the next chapter goes up, but for now, trust in my (nonexistant) planning skills!
> 
> alsopleaseletmeknowifitsgoodreviewsgivemevalidationaaA

**Author's Note:**

> {wowo I must really like brackets huh. I'll try to get the first three completed chapters edited and posted over the next two weeks, and I have a fourth that was started quite a while ago but never finished. Hylian Nights will update a few weeks after that goes up. Thanks for reading! <3}


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